The End of the Lin Family

King Jiang’s sudden arrival startled the palace maids at Consort Lin’s gate.

“Greetings, Your Majesty. Why has Your Majesty come?” one palace maid asked, thoroughly surprised.

It was customary for King Jiang to send word in advance before visiting any consort’s bedchambers, yet this time, he had arrived without any notice.

“This does not concern you. This sovereign has a matter to discuss with my beloved consort.” After speaking, he walked directly inside.
At that moment, Consort Lin was still plotting the coup with Xinhun True Lord.

“Senior, that Yan Yun has suddenly disappeared. I’ve had a bad feeling ever since yesterday,” Consort Lin said.

“Hmph! You should know she has a connection with the Evil Emperor. The Evil Emperor has issued an order that no one in our Demonic Dao Alliance is to touch a single hair on that Yan Yun’s head. So, I advise you to leave her be,” Xinhun True Lord said.

But just as Consort Lin was about to say more, a cold voice fell into her and Xinhun True Lord’s ears without any warning.

“I never would have thought, my good and beloved consort, that you would actually be colluding with people from the Demonic Dao Alliance.”

The voice was exceedingly abrupt. Xinhun True Lord and Consort Lin were greatly alarmed, their gazes instantly snapping towards the door.

The main doors were then thrown open with brute force, the restrictive seals upon them shattering in an instant.

King Jiang walked in, his face filled with killing intent.

“Your Majesty, you?” Consort Lin was completely dumbfounded.

Xinhun True Lord was also panicked, wanting to sever the connection between his main body and this strand of divine soul in the first instant.

Unfortunately, just as he was about to flee, an invisible force fixed him in place. He was then seized by King Jiang’s power and pulled before him.

“Xinhun True Lord, is it? Your Demonic Dao Alliance’s reach is truly long, stretching even into my Jiang Country palace.” King Jiang narrowed his eyes, staring at Xinhun True Lord.

Xinhun True Lord was completely bewildered, wondering how King Jiang seemed to know of their plan in advance.

“Hahaha, Your Majesty’s arrival is quite sudden. Anyone who didn’t know might think you were here to catch an adulterer,” Xinhun True Lord said sarcastically.

Now that he was caught, it was clear that this strand of his divine soul would not be preserved.

“This is not so different from catching an adulterer, is it? If this sovereign hadn’t received news that your Demonic Dao Alliance intended to swap the prince for a pawn, this sovereign would have truly found it impossible to believe she would join hands with you against me.” King Jiang glanced at Consort Lin with disappointment.

Xinhun True Lord let out a wicked laugh.

“Your Majesty, why be so angry? The peace treaty between our Demonic Dao Alliance and the Righteous Dao Alliance is about to expire. At that time, with the strength of my Demonic Dao Alliance, we will surely destroy the Righteous Dao Alliance, and Jiang Country will become a nation within my Demonic Dao Alliance’s sphere of influence.”

However, the moment he finished speaking, King Jiang suddenly clenched his fist. Xinhun True Lord immediately let out a bloodcurdling scream, then exploded.

As this strand of divine soul exploded, deep within the Demonic Sect of the Demonic Dao Alliance, an old man immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Terrifying! Who? Who leaked this old man’s plan? When I find you, this old man will flay your soul and skin you alive!” the old man roared in fury.

After annihilating Xinhun True Lord’s divine soul, King Jiang finally walked towards Consort Lin.

“Your Majesty, you… please listen to your consort’s explanation. Your consort… your consort was deceived by this fiend. This… this was not your consort’s intention.” Consort Lin’s face was filled with terror.

Just a few days ago, she had been ecstatic, dreaming of overthrowing Jiang Country. But now, only a few days later, it all felt like a nightmare.

“An explanation? My beloved consort, have we reached this point, and you still wish to deceive this sovereign? You know very well that if this sovereign wished, I could perform a soul search on you. But I, King Jiang, have never been willing to let you suffer the fate of having your soul annihilated.” King Jiang said with a face full of bitterness.

In his rear palace, besides the Queen, his favorite woman was Consort Lin. At least, the Consort Lin of the past was definitely not like this.

Now that things had come to this, Consort Lin truly had no need to hide anything further.

She clenched her fists, and then, gritting her teeth, she roared at King Jiang with a face full of fury, “That’s right, it was me! I’ve been planning this for many years! I was the one who initiated contact with the Demonic Dao! But all of this, you forced me to do it! Your Majesty, your consort entered the palace in her teens and has served you for over two hundred years! And you? You promised me multiple times that if the Queen couldn’t hold on, you would make me the new Queen! But what happened? You delayed again and again! Did you think I didn’t know that you never truly intended to make me Queen?”

Consort Lin vented all her resentment at once.

That she had become this way did have something to do with King Jiang, but it was mostly due to her own greed.

As King Jiang’s wedded wife, he would naturally want to do everything in his power to save Queen Dai.

He… he had indeed promised Consort Lin, but he had said if the Queen truly couldn’t hold on.

“Is that not reason enough for you to betray Jiang Country?” King Jiang laughed, a very bitter laugh.

“Over a hundred years! I can’t wait any longer! Not to mention, you… you even suppressed my Lin family for the sake of a little girl that the Righteous Dao Alliance won’t tolerate, stripped me of my eligibility to be the successor queen, and even wanted to make Jiang Chen the Crown Prince! What did you take me for with all your actions?” The more Consort Lin spoke, the angrier she became.

King Jiang looked at Consort Lin’s furious state, lowered his head slightly, and then said weakly.

“Sigh! It is this sovereign’s fault. This sovereign… this sovereign… this sovereign should not have let you climb to this position. I let you have too many thoughts you shouldn’t have.”

King Jiang raised his hand and shot a fine thread of energy at Consort Lin.

The slender thread instantly pierced through Consort Lin’s glabella.

Consort Lin’s body immediately trembled. Her once bright and spirited eyes instantly lost their color, her pupils rapidly dilated, and she finally fell to the ground, dead.

This was already King Jiang’s final act of mercy towards her, allowing her to die without any pain.

After killing Consort Lin, King Jiang seemed to have aged a great deal. He slowly walked out the door, closing it behind him.

He then raised his hand and snapped his fingers. All the palace maids in Consort Lin’s bedchambers fainted.

Then he sent people to seal off Consort Lin’s bedchambers, preventing the news of her death from spreading.

After doing all this, King Jiang arrived at the residence of the Eighth Prince, Jiang Lin.

“Father… Father King?” Jiang Lin hastily bowed in greeting.

King Jiang looked at Jiang Lin and sighed again.

“Lin’er, is there something you wish to tell your Father King?”

At this, Jiang Lin immediately recounted the matter of Consort Lin secretly colluding with the Demonic Dao.

King Jiang had originally come to kill this son of his, but he had given him a chance. If he knew nothing, or if he proactively revealed everything, it would prove that his heart was with Jiang Country, and he would naturally not deal with him.

But if he knew yet concealed it, he would not hesitate to deal with this son.

Listening to Jiang Lin’s account, King Jiang’s tense expression gradually relaxed.

“Lin’er, you have done well. You have not disappointed your father. But at the same time, I must tell you something. Your father already knows about the matter you speak of. Your mother has committed suicide out of guilt, and I have already dealt with that fiend.”

King Jiang patted Jiang Lin’s shoulder and said.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Lin’s face was immediately filled with immense sorrow. Although he knew that once this matter was exposed, his mother would surely die.

He had thought at the time to inform King Jiang in advance and then plead for mercy. That way, perhaps King Jiang, for the sake of their years as husband and wife, would spare his mother’s life.

But alas, he had been stopped.

“Do not resent your father. Your father had no choice but to do this. Go and see your mother one last time.” After saying this, King Jiang turned and left.

Jiang Lin, however, suddenly went limp, sitting on the ground, completely at a loss.

He blamed himself. Why hadn’t he feigned obedience at the time and then gone to tell King Jiang? If he had, perhaps Consort Lin would not have died.

Time slowly passed, and soon it was evening.

Time slowly passed, and soon it was night.

Around midnight, a stream of light suddenly rose from the surroundings of the Lin family residence. The light converged rapidly, forming a containment array that enveloped the Lin family within.

It all happened in an instant. By the time the Lin family discovered they had been sealed off, it was already too late.

Upon receiving the news, Patriarch Lin Xiong flew out at the first moment and unleashed a full-powered strike against the invisible barrier in the sky. But the result was that it did not move a single inch.

“This? How can this be?” Lin Xiong’s face changed.

Then, a majestic voice echoed within the Lin family residence.

“The Lin family has secretly colluded with the Demonic Dao, intending to subvert the royal family. By order of the King, tonight, the clan shall be exterminated.”

These words left everyone in the Lin family utterly dumbfounded.

But basically, no one cried out about being wronged, because it was the truth. Since King Jiang was acting this way, it meant he already knew everything. What was the point of trying to argue?

“Father, the Lin family is finished,” Lin Xiong said to the several Lin family elders beside him with a bitter smile.

“Hehe, didn’t we anticipate this day would come? That’s why, as soon as you returned, you secretly sent all the young disciples of the family away,” the old master of the Lin family said.

Since ancient times, victors become kings and losers are vilified. They understood this principle.

But just then, a cold, sharp laugh rang in their ears.

“Those you sent away, do you really think they can be spared?”

This voice made the high-ranking members of the Lin family pause. Then, a figure passed through the containment array and slowly descended, appearing in their line of sight.

“A Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator? What, the King wants to execute us, and he sends a small-fry cultivator like you?” The old master of the Lin family stepped forward and sneered.

However, in the next moment, their expressions stiffened. Yan Yun was seen taking off the black cloak on her body and removing her mask, revealing her true face.

“Lin Xiong, you recognize me, don’t you?”

The moment Lin Xiong saw Yan Yun, his previously calm expression instantly became twisted.

“It’s you?”

“That’s right, it’s me. Surprised, aren’t you? That your Lin family would have this day. When you were throwing your weight around back then, did you ever think of today?” Yan Yun said with a smile.

Lin Xiong quickly realized something.

“It was you? The King wants to exterminate my Lin family, it was your doing?”

Yan Yun admitted it directly.

“Yes, that’s right, it was me. Weren’t you the ones who went to the Qianjin Pavilion to buy clues about me back then? I simply returned the favor, bought a clue about your Lin family’s self-destructive actions, and then gave it to the King as a gift. Isn’t this just reaping what you’ve sown? Hahaha…” Yan Yun burst into loud laughter.

Her laughter sounded less and less like that of someone from the righteous path.